RJ Lupin: Lost Marauder
by petuniasanddingleberries
Summary: It's the battle of Hogwarts, and it is Remus' last chance to avenge his best friend; by killing his lover. That is, until Lupin finds himself thrust back in time to when he was in his sixth year at Hogwarts. Dumbledore appoints him DADA professor, to watch over the young marauders, and to change their future. Will he rise to the opportunity, or will he and his friends fall again?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi! So this is the first fanfiction that I've published, and it's a Remus Lupin and OC time travel fic, a bit of love, a bit of action, perhaps smut but hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. It's a work in progress, so any tips or pointers or _constructive criticism _is welcome, by all means. I apologise for any muff ups in the time line (now or in the future); just let me know and i'll fix it up. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, though if I did, the ending would have been a crap load cheesier (though i'm not hating on J.K Rowling's marvellous creations). Anything you don't recognise is my work, so yes, blame me. 

Alright, here goes nothing.

Prologue:

"Remus John Lupin. My, my, it's been a while," the death eater sneered.

"Cassandra," Remus replied coolly, one hand around the woman's neck, the other holding his wand firmly at her throat. "Not long enough."

He looked at the woman he held in his hand. Her silver hair had lost it's shine, now a placid white; her crystal blue eyes turned a dark, lifeless navy, and her once perfect skin was marred by scars and a gruesome, black, slithering tattoo. The girl he once knew was long gone.

"Oh Remus, why so aggressive?" she asked innocently, reaching up to twirl a golden lock of hair around her slender fingers. "Is it because I slept with your best friend?"

A growl rumbled from deep in Remus' throat, and he slammed the death eaters' head into the stone wall behind her. She let out a cry, which slowly turned into a shrill cackle as she manoeuvred her hand around Lupin and drew her wand; with a few muttered spells, Remus was thrown away from her, falling into a tumble. He was back on his feet in seconds, firing spells at her, and blocking her attacks. In the midst of the brawl she shouted, in a shrill, menacing voice; "Or is it because I killed him?"

With a roar, Remus pounced at her, forgetting spells, duel normalcies, letting his animal instincts take over. He clawed at her, biting, snarling, growling, in a flourish of arms and legs, but she fended him off. With a cry, blue sparks flew out of her wand, hitting the wolf-man in the chest.

He stopped in his tracks, dazed, and while he was vulnerable, shouted one final curse.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

But at the same instant, another voice, Remus saw not who, screamed "Initium finis!"

A jet of bright green light melded with a flash of blue, and an aqua beam hit Remus in the heart, and he was gone.

Chapter 1:

There was a small _click_ in the astronomy tower as Albus Dumbledore apparated into sight, a very drunk Horace Slughorn at his side.

"Albus, I say, that is the last time I accept whiskey from a veela." Horace slurred, stumbling towards the door. Albus laughed good naturedly, patting the potions master on the shoulder.

"That's what you said last time," Albus chuckled, eyes twinkling. "Perhaps you should head off to bed, Horace." Slughorn mumbled in agreement and waddled off towards the door with a quiet goodnight.

As soon as the door snapped shut behind him, Dumbledore turned on his heel, beard catching in his belt. On the floor in the corner of the room was a figure in a crumpled heap, covered in a dusty brown cloak.

The figure moved, a groaning shudder rippling through the heap. The man, Albus saw when he sat up, was bleeding, from large gashes on his arms and torso, shirt shredded. He had scars across his face, right from his eye to his chin; he looked tired. He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed.

Albus cleared his throat and the man jumped, head snapping up. On his feet in an instant, the man dusted himself off, then swayed suddenly, taken over by a head sin. When he regained his composure, he looked at the old wizard in confusion.

"_Dumbledore?_" the man gasped. Dumbledore nodded, and retrieved his wand from his robe. The man looked weak, ready to pass out at any moment. With a flick of the old wizards wrist, the man was bound my his hands and feet, head lolling on his shoulders. Albus made the man hover on his back, like he was on an invisible stretcher, and carried him down to the infirmary.

Remus groaned, trying to sit up.

"Lie back down, foolish man. You'll never heal if you keep moving!" Madam Pomfrey snapped, suddenly over Remus pushing him back into his bed. "You've gotten yourself into quite a state! You look like you wrestled a hippogriff."

Where was he? The Hogwarts infirmary. It must be after the battle, if Madam Pomfrey is taking care of him. _I'm alive_ he thought, relief quickly swallowed by sadness. "Harry?" Remus asked the bustling woman. "Where's Harry?"

"Who the devil is Harry?" The woman asked.

What? Who's Harry? "Harry Potter!"

"Merlin's beard, did you hit your head man? The only potter I know is James Potter."

"What?!" Remus sat bolt upright. Where was Harry? James is dead! What is this woman talking about?

"For goodness sake, lie. Down!" she snapped. "It's the middle of the night, and-"

She was cut off mid-sentence by a noisy group of teenagers running into the room, stamping their feet and whispering frantically.

"BE QUIET." Pomfrey hissed at the group. There was four of them, Remus could see, carrying a limp figure in their arms. They shut up, and one- the tallest one- looked around. Remus' heart gave a large thud. _James_!

He could see now, in the dim candlelit room, the other marauders, placing the figure onto a bed. It was him! Moony, right there! When was this? What had he done? It must have been after a particularly bad full moon. The others looked quite exhausted and rugged. It must have been a hard night.

When he saw Sirius, young and healthy, he could barely sit still. Then he saw Peter. A fiery surge of hate flew through him, boiling inside him.

"TRAITOR!" He bellowed, the words flying out of his mouth before he could stop himself. The group jumped and spun, and Remus caught the eye of the fifth marauder. Cassandra Mina. Her silvery hair was as vibrant as ever, flickering in the dim light. Her eyes shone intensely; anger pulsated through her, at this stranger. But that didn't matter. She was untainted by dark magic.

Forgetting her, Remus leapt out of bed, grabbed his wand off the night stand beside his bed and bounded towards Wormtail. The boy squeaked and cowered as the man pushed him up against the wall and held him firmly, shouting, cursing at him.

"YOU WERE ALWAYS WEAK, I KNEW IT, BUT HE WAS YOUR FRIEND. WE ALL WERE. We took you in and cared for you and you betrayed our trust!" he screamed, holding the boy with one arm, while fending off three children with the other.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing-"

"Get off of him psycho-"

"Petrificus totalis!"

Then the man was on the ground, bound by invisible ties once more. Albus Dumbledore lowered his wand and moved into the room. He looked at the boy on the bed and at his friends. "I am incredibly sorry for this man's behaviour. He is... under a lot of stress at the moment." he said sincerely.

"He's a lunatic!" Cassandra burst out. "What is he doing here?"

"That," Dumbledore said. "I do not know. Now, off to bed. Madam Pomfrey and I will take care of Mr Lupin."

The four all muttered there okay's and left the room, sullen. When they were gone, Madam Pomfrey administrated the wolfsbane potion to the sickly looking boy on the bed and left him, Albus, and the other man alone. Albus turned to the man on the floor and released him. The man got to his feet and swore.

When he had had his rant, Albus said, "Would you care to explain yourself?"

"He- I-" But he couldn't. There was no justifying what he had just done without sounding insane.

"Mr Lupin, what year did you come from?" Dumbledore inquired calmly. "And what is it that happened that possessed you to attack a student?"

"That's it." Remus whispered. That's the only thing that explained this. It had to have been Cassandra. Her spell combining with the other spell... But, that's hardly ever been heard of. It's impossible, isn't it?

"Nineteen ninety seven." Remus said. If anyone could help him figure this out, it was Dumbledore. Who was now alive and well in front of him.

"I see." He said. "And why did you come back, may I ask? How?"

"I- I'm not sure. I was in a battle. Something happened. I have a theory, but it's incredibly unheard of." Lupin explained his battle with the death eater, but did not say that it was his best friend. "all I know for sure is that I blacked out, and woke up here."

"How I see it, Mr Lupin, is you've been given the chance to change the future." Dumbledore said. Remus just blinked. The thought had fluttered across his mind, but Dumbledore seemed to think that was all there was too it!

"Professor?"

"Terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time," the old man said. "I trust you know that. But it seems to me that you have been presented with an opportunity. There are things in your future that you would like to change, I imagine. There are things in all of our futures that are imminent, but you have been given the opportunity and the knowledge to change things." Dumbledore leant closer.

"I know you, Remus. I have watched you grow for the last six years. I know the man you will, and have, grown to be. You were always destined for great things."

This wasn't right. It wasn't meant to be this easy. Dumbledore... had a plan. Already, yes, but he always had a plan. _Perhaps_, Remus thought, _the old man is right._

He knew what was going to happen. He could stop it. He could save James and Lily, Harry; stop Peter, stop _Voldemort_ if he tried. He could save Cassandra. He had been given an opportunity. He would take it.

Remus inhaled deeply, and looked over at his younger self who was sucking in ragged breaths. Then he looked back to the dead man in front of him. "What did you have in mind?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Cassandra Mina stood over James Potter, wand pointed at his face. He was red in the face, and Sirius black was doubled over, laughing like a mad man; Peter was beside him, snickering quietly.

"_What _did you say to me, Potter?" She said, focussing on the tickling hex.

"Nothing, I swear!" he cried, tears of laughter falling from his eyes. "Please, please, stop!"

"No, no, please don't!" Sirius cackled.

"I said-" James tried, before dissolving into another fit of giggles. "I said you're a lovely witch!"

"At least, it rhymed with that," Peter chuckled.

"Ass," Cass said, stepping off of James, releasing him from her hex. Despite that, he kept laughing.

"Merlin, Argent, why must you pay attention in charms class?" he groaned, rolling to his feet.

"And every other class?" Sirius chimed in. "Though, I have to say, I'm glad you do. I'd be lost without your guidance."

"Ha, guidance. More like answers." Argent laughed. Cass had inherited that name from her fellow marauders when she had mastered her ability to turn into an animagus in their fifth year; a fox. Her fox though, rather than turning a rustic red, was a stunning silver, much like her hair. The cunning and intelligence just made the package whole.

"Speaking of answers," Sirius said coyly. "Do you think you could-"

"No!" Cass said, thumping him on the arm. "Honestly, it's only first term. How on earth are you behind already?"

"Ow, unnecessary," he said, rubbing his arm. She smiled.

She'd met the maruader's in her first year, after Remus had introduced her to them once she'd been sorted into Gryffindor. She'd met the werewolf on the train, and they'd bonded over books and excitement for their first year at Hogwarts. At first she'd been shy and bookish, but the four boys had managed to turn her into as much of a marauder as the rest of them. They'd become her family, and they were inseparable. Even when they had their bouts over what now seemed like silly things, like who _really_ put the dung bombs under Peter's pillow, or who actually set the toilet on fire, or who dated who, who said what... they always came back to each other.

"I wonder how Moony's doing," Cass said, sitting down on the red lounge in front of the common room fire beside Sirius. She curled her legs up underneath her and leant on his shoulder. She was still exhausted from the night before last. Moony had been particularly aggravated that evening, and even Padfoot had found it difficult to communicate with him. And because Remus was still recuperating in the infirmary, none of them had been able to sleep easy the night after. Especially because he had to share the room with that psycho who'd attacked Peter. They'd all begged the headmaster to move either one of them, but he would have none of it, so they were all a bit on edge. All it took to bring them back though was a friendly duel, in which jokingly harsh words were exchanged, one thing led to another, and James was being mauled by a tickling hex.

"He's probably fine. This happens." James said, leaning against the front of the one seater chair that Peter had fallen asleep in. Man, it was only lunch time, and none of them could keep their eyes open. You'd think they'd be used to it by now, but sleep deprivation was sometimes just too much.

"Yeah, Moony's fine. The old coot across the room from him, however, is a different story." Sirius sighed into Cass' hair. She could hear the drowsiness in his voice.

"What was his deal? Where do you think he came from?" Cass asked.

"He's probably a drunk that Dumbledore picked up from the The Three Broomsticks on one of his "late night trips"." Sirius said. James exhaled in amusement. On more than one occasion, the marauder's had been caught out of bed after hours by Dumbledore after he'd apparated right in front of them. He'd always smelled like fire whiskey, so James and Sirius did some digging (more like Sirius sweet talked Rosmerta) and found out that The Three Broomsticks was in fact where their headmaster had been disappearing to. She'd said that he drank like a sailor, but whenever they'd come across him he'd seemed as sober as ever.

"I honestly cannot imagine him intoxicated." Cass said.

"But alas, the proof is all there." James said.

"Either he's really good at hiding it, or he's always plastered." Sirius chortled.

"That explains soooo much." Cass moaned, letting her head fall back.

"What does?"

The trio spun around to see Remus entering the common room through the portrait. He still looked grey and weak, but better.

"Moony! Nice of you to join us!" James said happily as Remus sat himself down on the floor in front of them.

"Hope you didn't get attacked by a crazy drunk on your endeavours." Sirius said pleasantly.

Remus looked at Cass in confusion. "What...?" Argent quickly explained the fiasco with the man in the infirmary, and their theories as to how he ended up at Hogwarts.

"Jeez," Remus said, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "Is Pete alright?"

James shrugged, glancing over at the small, chubby sixteen year old snoring softly on the lounge. "He seems fine. Just a bit shaken up is all."

"He's been a bit quiet," Cass said.

Moony nodded. "Hey, do you think he could be the replacement defence teacher?"

"What?" Sirius snorted. "Dumbledore's an old whack job, but he has more sense than that."

"Actually," Cass said. "He'd be a step up from the last professor." Their last defence against the dark arts teacher had been a lazy, good for nothing, abusive dirt ball, to put it politely.

"Amen," James said.

"C'mon guys, we better get to class." Remus said, and the others groaned. James dragged himself up off the floor and shoved Peter off the chair. He fell to the floor with a thud.

"Come on Wormtail, perk up!" Sirius said, then the five of them climbed through the portrait hole and headed to class.

"Honey badger," Remus said, reading from the parchment that had been delivered to him in the infirmary that morning. The gargoyle leapt aside and Lupin ascended the stone steps. The headmaster's office doors swung open before he reached them, and inside Dumbledore was sitting at his desk.

"Come in, Mr Lupin." he said, closing the door behind his guest. "Have a seat."

Dumbledore sipped at his tea as Remus sat. "Thank you for joining me Remus. As you can imagine, I am quite curious as to know what you do, but first I must inform you of something. Tea?" Remus shook his head. "Your theory as to how you travelled through time is, as it turns out, quite feasible. It is nearly unheard of, but it has been confirmed. The combination of two spells, spells that both mean the destruction and creation of life, is called a _niscasture. _This generally ends in the regeneration of a soul. However, depending on the spell, the end results can change."

"So, you're saying if someone where to cast a counter spell for... the killing curse, for example, it could change the out come." Remus said.

"What counter spell are you describing?"

"_Initium finis._"

"Yes... Yes, exactly." Albus said. Then he shook his head. "But we will come back to that. We have much to discuss. Please, tell me what you know, carefully. I don't want too many of the finer details."

So Remus began. He told Dumbledore about the battle of Hogwarts, first and second. He spoke all that he knew of Voldemort, of his followers. He spoke about who he was in the past- future, his position at Hogwarts, his condition... He spoke until Dumbledore raised his hand to silence him.

"Remus, do you know the identities of any of the death eaters?" Albus asked. Remus nodded. "Will you tell me?"

Remus nodded again, and slowly began listing those that he knew. Dolohov, Malfoy, Black, the list went on. Though most had graduated, this was news for Dumbledore. He kept going, until he got to Peter Pettigrew. The anger boiled inside him once more.

"And.. Peter Pettigrew, sir." Remus said quietly.

"Pettigrew?" Albus said, surprise obvious in his voice.

"Yes. I'm sure you know of the prophecy?" The old man nodded. "It's about James. And Lily. Peter sold them to Voldemort."

Silence. "Is there anyone else?"

"Yes." Remus whispered. "Cassandra Mina."

Albus didn't say anything for a long while. He seemed to be pondering this. He said nothing, then: "Do you have any idea how these two came to serve under Voldemort?"

Remus shook his head again. He didn't. Cassandra had been his best friend, all through school. But by halfway through seventh year, she became distant. She began interacting with Snape, being almost friendly, and... they'd had a falling out. It wasn't just a fight between friends, it was the end. The other marauders heard nothing of her for years, until the first battle of Hogwarts, when they found her again, only she was fighting for the wrong side. And then Peter sold James and Lily to Voldemort, and thus, Harry's legacy was created. He'd never suspected either of them, esspecially not Peter. Not until twelve years later.

"Remus, I'm going to ask you to do something that you may not be entirely comfortable with, but-"

"Professor, I have a feeling that I do not have a choice." Remus said with a small smile.

Albus nodded and continued, "I would like you to be this years defence against the dark arts teacher."

"But, hasn't the year already begun?"

"Yes, however, the previous defence teacher was... not fit for the position. I was unable to find a replacement on such short notice. Though, it seems, the opportunity has pre-"

"Presented itself, yes. It seems to be in the habit of doing so." Remus said.

"Remus, you know your friends better then anyone. You can become not only their mentors but their allies. They're sixteen, easily influenced. Will you become their good influence?"

"Professor, I'm-"

"You will be your own teacher. See that you make the right decisions." Albus said. Remus opened his mouth to say something, but thought it better not to. He took the headmasters words as a dismissal.

"Ah, Remus, you start on Monday." Dumbledore said. "You'll be staying in the defence teachers' chambers; I trust you know your way around?"

"Yes sir."

"And you would do well to inform the students of your name. Do be creative, Remus. Goodnight."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I would like to apologise; upon looking over my last two chapters I realised that the website took out some of my segment separations, and it makes absolutely no sense. So, it goes from the marauders chilling in the common room then going to class, then straight to From-the-future-Remus going to see Dumbledore. That's, um, that's two separate bits. If it's like that in any other sections I'm really sorry, I'll try and edit it so the separations are clearer.

Thanks for reading! Remember, review! Cheers Potterheads!

Chapter 3:

The marauders sat around a table at The Three Broomsticks swigging butterbeers and laughing louder than anyone else in the pub. Some elderly women around them gave them dirty looks, but they didn't care.

"And then- and then- and he-" James choked out around his laughter.

"He went, he used it." Remus finished for him. The table erupted into laughter once more; reminiscing of the time that James and Sirius booby trapped all the toilets in the boys lavatory to explode when someone took a dump. By some miracle, and some enchanted prune juice, Snape happened to be the first to use them. The pair had scored themselves detention with McGonnagal for a month for all the destruction they caused, but it was nothing compared to the night that Snivellous spent in the infirmary.

"Some say you can still hear his screams through the corridors at night," Cass moaned in mock horror.

As the laughter died down, the pub door swung open, a charm caused a soft ringing to sound through the building. James' head snapped up, and his grin quickly went from happy to worried to shitting himself to ecstatic.

Lily Evans had just entered the pub.

"Chaps, today is the day." James said, dusting his clean shirt off with his hands. "I'm going to get Lily to go out with me."

Sirius sighed, Remus pat him on the back, and Peter gave him the thumbs up. "Thirteen thousandth time's the charm, Prongs!" Cass said with a wink. James gave her a playful nudge and headed towards the table that Lily and her friends had occupied. The four remaining held their breath.

James went up to her, tapped her on the shoulder politely, his usual cockiness gone, and words were exchanged. Lily's normal, hostile face didn't surface as it normally did when she was in contact with James Potter; instead, a smile toyed at her lips.

Sirius' mouth fell open as Lily raised her hand up and put it on James' arm and nodded, lips moving. James' grin got broader, and the smug Prongs had returned. He puffed out his chest, took Lily by the arm and waltzed out of the pub.

"What just happened?" Sirius said, mouth still open.

"Did that really just occur?" Remus said, looking confused. Peter was grinning like an idiot; if his idol was happy, so was he.

"All I know is that I need another drink," Cass said. She stood up, collected her peers' glasses and wandered off to the bar.

"I guess it's our turn, hey mates?" Peter said, wiggling his eye brows. Sirius burst out laughing.

"No offence mate, but old Snivellous has got more of a chance with the ladies then you do!" he jested.

"Oh, ha ha." Peter said, crossing his arms. "Just because no girl would stay with you for more than two hours."

"Excuse me," Sirius retorted, sitting up straighter. "That is _my_ choice."

"Just holding out for the right girl, aye Pads?" Remus said without realising it.

"Madam Rosmerta has a husband Sirius." Peter said, and Sirius thumped him on the arm.

"You sound like a lost man, Remus. Have you already found this "right girl'"?" he said, elbowing his friends arm.

"What- no." Remus said quickly, then immediately scolded himself for being so hasty. His eyes unwillingly travelled over the pub to where Argent stood waiting for the drinks.

"YOU DOG!" Sirius yelled, pushing back his chair and throwing his arms up.

"Sirius, shut up."

"Really Remus? Your oldest friend?" Sirius said loudly, a huge grin plastered across his face.

Peter, who hadn't appeared to have been paying attention piped up and said, "Who? James?"

Sirius broke down. His laughter echoed through the pub, and Remus couldn't help but join in. Peter sat their looking confused until Cass got back to the table, passing everyone their drinks and sitting down. She looked at the two cackling boys, then at Pete. "Did I miss something?"

"I don't know..." he said slowly.

"Oh, Argent, you'll never-" Sirius, however, was unable to finish his sentence because Remus had punched him on the leg underneath the table.

"Oh crap," Cass said, looking down at her watch. She picked up her mug and skulled the butterbeer. Sirius whistled.

"My kind of woman!" he crooned. Cass chuckled and stood up once more, throwing her back over her shoulder.

"We have to go to the library," she said hoisting Peter up as well. "It's urgent. We'll see you back in the common room?"

"Yeah, sure," Remus answered smoothly.

"Fill me in on Prongs and Lily!" she called, practically running out the front door, Peter trailing closely behind.

"Well, that went well." Sirius said, taking a large drink of his butterbeer. "Now tell me Moons, how long?"

"How long what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, book boy. How long have you been crushing on Cass?"


	4. Chapter 4

Remus spent no more than thirty seconds on his new name. Romulus Granger. He kept it familiar, because he had already unwillingly given up so much, he wanted to keep something close to him. Granger, because the young witch wore that name with pride, and she herself was the brightest witch of her age; she reminded him so much of Cassandra at times. No one would recognise it either, so they would be none the wiser as to whether he was of pure blood or not.

Before his first class, Remus stood in front of the mirror in his chambers, wand pointed at his face. He was furiously whispering spells and casting glamours to hide his scars. He'd never been a master of charms or transfiguration, so he didn't dare try and completely change his appearance. A few glamours should keep his disfigurement from being too obvious.

The first class he taught on the Monday was a class of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. A rowdy bunch, but they all got down to it. It was funny, because Remus recognised so many of their tiny faces. He saw them as an adult, and saw that they weren't ruddy annoying third years, they were students.

After that he had the Gryffindor fifth years. They were a nuisance. Remus could only imagine that that was because they sought to be like the marauders.

It was very surreal. Only three days ago Remus had been witnessing the destruction of his home, ready to give his life for the place he had grown up. Yet here he stood, in the same classroom as he had four years ago; whole, homely, alive with magic.

He sat and ate lunch at the teachers table, making polite conversation with Professor McGonnagal and avoiding the glares coming from the Gryffindor table, when the headmaster rose from his seat. The great hall was immediately silent; something that never ceased to impress Remus.

"Good afternoon everyone," Albus said in his calm, booming voice. "As some of you may have noticed, whether you saw him around or had a class with him, we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Romulus Granger." The hall erupted into cheers and Remus stood, giving a small wave. When he sat down again he looked over all the tables. There were so many faces! Alice and Frank, sitting close to one another, smiling, blissfully ignorant; he saw Severus Snape sitting alone at the Slytherin table, looking as displeased and sullen as ever; then there were the marauders. None of them were applauding, and he wasn't surprised, but it hurt him more then he'd like to admit. Peter was avoiding his gaze, however; James, Sirius and himself were talking amongst themselves and Cass was glaring daggers at him. Her eyes always told him how she felt. She could never truly hide her emotions, not if you knew her eyes. In the pit of his stomach he remembered the love he'd once had for her. She was his whole world, but she'd crushed him when he was only seventeen.

_I can't let her do it again, _he thought. _I've got to stop her from ruining hers and everyone else's lives. Peter too. _He was a good kid, they both were. He had to find out where they went wrong.

His first class after lunch was the one he had been dreading. He had sixth year Gryffindor and Slytherin. He did not want to be in such close proximity to himself and his friends, but he had an objective, and he was going to fulfil it.

() () () ()

"Why did you have to say that Remus?" Cass growled at her best friend, who put his hands up quickly in defence. "Why do you always have to be right? I mean, honestly, him, of all people! Dumbledore is really loosing his mind."

"Hey, Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards of all time-" James interjected.

"You're defending him?" Cass turned on him. "_He attacked a student_. What do you think he'll try and teach us in class? The dark side of the force?!"

"You said yourself that he'd be a step up from the last professor," Remus said, oblivious to her muggle movie reference.

"That is true," Peter said, waddling behind his friends.

"Yes, well-" Cass stuttered. Then she sighed. "Never mind."

"Maybe it was a one time thing." Remus said quietly.

"Who knows?" Sirius said merrily. "Maybe he'll be the greatest thing that has ever happened to this school."

"You're a prat," Cass smirked, rolling her eyes. Sirius stopped walking, took Cass' hand and held his other over his heart, looking into her eyes intently.

"Thank you," he whispered. The sincerity was too much. "I try so hard." The girl shook him off, calling him something that sounded like "clucking trick".

"We've got to go to class," she said. "With "the best thing that has ever happened to this school"."

When they walked into the classroom, they saw the man was leaning on his desk. He looked tired and thin, grey around the edges. His clothes were dodgily patched up, and his light hair was messy. He looked like he'd just woken up and vaguely attempted to comb his hair.

There were no tables or chairs out, so the students all gathered around the back of the room. When it was evident that no one else was coming in, Professor Granger flicked his wand and the door swung shut, not taking his eyes off of Cassandra.

He seemed to realise that he was staring; he blinked, straightening up, and stepped closer to his class. "Hello everyone, my name is Professor-" he cleared his throat. "Granger. I understand that you covered the unforgivable curses with your last teacher?"

There was a few mumbles from the others and some shaking heads. "You didn't?"

"No, professor." Moony said. The professor blinked once, then continued.

"Well then, I had planned on a little fun for this lesson, however, it is of the utmost importance that you know these curses and how to beat them." The professor began to pace. "Now, can anyone tell me what the three unforgivable curses are?" A few people raised their hands. "Yes, miss?"

"Evans. Lily," the girl said.

"Lily,"

"The imperius curse."

"Yes, very good. The imperius curse is a curse that allows the caster complete control over the victim under the influence. Let me show you."

With a shaky movement, professor Granger said the words and cast the curse upon a small, colourful bird that had been sitting in a cage on his desk. The bird suddenly snapped to attention and began hopping around the cage. It climbed all over the walls and got to the little latched door. With a faint click, the bird unhooked the door, opened it, and flew out. It swooped over the students heads, stretching its wings, sending trails of bright colour behind it. A few of the girls giggled with awe. Not to say it wasn't beautiful, the way the colours danced around the room, but to know the bird was under the imperius curse... Moony sighed.

Beside her, Frank Longbottom raised his hand.

"Yes?" Granger said as the bird landed lightly on his shoulder.

"Frank Longbottom sir." he said informatively. "The cruciatus curse is another one." Beside him, Cass saw Alice gently squeeze his hand. That was new. The two had rarely ever spoken before. Must have been some weekend.

"Yes." the professor said sadly. Cass furrowed her brows at him. "Though I won't demonstrate that, not on this bird."

A few people gasped. "Don't be daft," Sirius said. "He wouldn't do it to you. It's illegal." The professor shook his head and laughed. That was a nice sound.

"No, perhaps I should have worded it a little differently." A few others snickered. "Does anyone know final curse?" Everyone shuffled on their feet awkwardly. No one opened their mouths.

"No one?"

"The killing curse." Cass said. The professors eyes shot to hers and something in them... flickered. What was it? It almost looked like... fear? Worry? But as quickly as it came it had gone. He nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off hers. The bird seemed to snap out of the professors control. It fluttered down from his shoulder and landed lightly on the desk behind him, chirping happily.

Moony was was watching her, eyes as still as his body was rigid. He could sense it, smell it on her, she was going to do something stupid.

Then she stepped forward, wand pointed at the creature on the table.

"Avada Kedavra."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Avada Kedavra." Cassandra whispered, and it was then with a flash of green light that Remus knew he was too late. She had already given herself to the Dark Lord.

The room was silent. For the first time in the history of the world, a room full of rowdy teenagers was completely quiet.

"Class dismissed." Remus snapped. The students all hurried towards the door- "Not you, Miss Mina."

"How do you know-"

"I'd know a Mina anywhere. Sit." She sat, her professor in the chair across from her. The rest of the students cleared out, and Remus saw Peter hesitate by the door, but continue walking. None of the others stopped.

"Look, professor, I-"

"What on earth do you think you are doing?"

"Excuse me?" Cassandra said defensively. There it was. The darkness was coming through. How had he missed that?

"You cast an unforgivable curse in my classroom. The killing curse, no less."

"So did you-"

"What were you thinking?"

"I was proving that I knew what I was doing!"

"Cassandra, you don't understand!" Remus cried, rising abruptly from his chair. He himself understood. Cassandra's father, Samuel Mina, was a pureblood wizard, in league with the Potters and the Blacks, though had no affiliation with Voldemort. He did, however, have very traditional beliefs and views towards lower blood status'. Anyone in his family who associated themselves with half bloods, blood traitors, and muggle borns fell victim to his brutal punishment. Samuel's son, Cassandra's older brother, was completely cut off from the Mina family for marrying a muggle born. She only sees him every few years, and under complete discretion. The same if they were to prove themselves incompetent in the ways of magic, so Cass strived so hard to prove herself worthy for her father. She had from the moment she started at Hogwarts, but none of her friends truly knew why. Not yet. "Do you know how truly serious what you just did is?"

She looked to the floor, avoiding his gaze.

"That is dark magic, Cassandra." Remus said, voice getting softer. He sat back down and leant towards the girl. "Any amount of dark magic can, and- and will lead a wizard down a path full of terrors, a place I assure, you do not want to go. Do you understand?"

Cassandra nodded, and rose from her seat. "May I be dismissed?" she said quietly. Her professor nodded.

"Wait, Cassandra?" Remus said, and she stopped by the door. "It takes... a lot of power to be able to successfully do these curses, especially at your age. You're a strong witch, Miss Mina. I would like to see what else you can do, if you would let me." She nodded again. "Provided it is good magic." he continued, and Cass gave a small smile. "Perhaps, you could join me in here again, after your last class?"

"Yes. Thank you, Professor," she said, and was gone. Perhaps he wasn't too late.

"What the FUCK was that?" Sirius yelled when he and James were back in the common room. Remus and Peter had gone ahead to arithmacy without Cass, a subject that baffled the two boys more than they would admit. Why they took it was a mystery to them. "She shouldn't even be able to cast that an unforgivable, let alone _that_ one!"

"Pads, I know." James said. He was sitting on a red lounge massaging his temples.

"It's not that I'm surprised she's capable, it's just-"

"She did it."

"Yes!" Sirius threw his arms in the air and collapsed beside James. "Jesus, why'd she do it Prongs?"

"I don't know, mate. I don't know."

As soon as the new professor had dismissed Cass, she had run down, down countless sets of stone staircases, down corridors, down to the wall. She paced its length three times, and on the third on a small wooden door appeared. She swung open the door and was not surprised to see a sullen-looking Lucius Malfoy sitting amongst piles and piles of treasures and useless items, tapping his fingers impatiently on his silver serpent headed cane. She was late, and she was in trouble.

"Cassandra," he hissed. "So thoughtful of you to join me."

"I apologise Lucius," Cass said, bowing her head slightly. "There was... a problem, in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"I know about your little incident, Mina."

"You.. do?"

"Yes, of course I do." He stood, robes billowing furiously behind him. "What an earth were you thinking? You could have exposed yourself, stupid girl!" C_rack; _he struck her across the cheek.

She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth; composed herself and stood up straight, knowing all to well what would happen if she were to cower or retaliate.

"However," the blonde man continued. "You did not, by some miracle, expose yourself, and I am rather impressed by your ability to cast such a curse. You are powerful, but stupid."

"Gee, thanks," she muttered. "The new professor wants to see me after my last class so I can show him my stupidity."

"And you will go." Lucius said simply. Cass blinked at him. She wasn't expecting that. The man continued, as if reading her mind. "The Dark Lord wants eyes on everyone in the castle, as you know, and as of this moment, you are the only one with us who does."

"So you want me to...?"

"Do the same as you have with the Potter and Black boy, and that werewolf. Get close to him. Make sure he is not a threat."

"Look, i'm pretty sure he's not a threat. Just a substitute pawn."

"Even so, it is better safe than sorry."

"Well I'll be, did Lucius Malfoy just speak _common sense_?" Cass said.

Lucius' lips curled into his version of a smile. "One day, that mouth of yours is going to get you beaten."

"It already has, sir." she said with a slightly menacing smile.

"Show me your arm," the man said. Cass extended out her left arm and rolled her sleeve up to her elbow. The black snake slithered around on her arm, throughout the skulls mouth. She still couldn't look at it, no matter how hard she tried. The eyes, though black, bottomless pits, were almost as terrifying as the Dark Lords. Instead, she looked at her mentor. Lucius grasped her arm and examined it. The edges of the tattoo were red raw. "Good. It is healing well." he said, then dropped it.

"Care to tell me why I was meeting you here?" Cass asked, rolling down her sleeve.

"It's time to recruit." Malfoy said, swapping his cane to the other hand.

"I take it you have someone in mind?"

"Indeed. It's time to bring in Pettigrew."

"But he's already-"

"A follower, but not a death eater. Initiating him is of the utmost importance. His family has connections in the ministry like no others. You know how badly he wants this-"

"Peter wouldn't dare bring his family into this. He's too much of a coward." Cass said despite herself. Peter was her friend. She knew he couldn't do it.

"But if he becomes a fully fledged death eater, he will have a reason to bring them in."

"I'm not following you."

"Right now, the Dark Lord can't touch the Pettigrews. As soon as he owns the rat, he owns them too." Lucius said. "Do you understand?" The girl nodded once. "As soon as possible." She nodded again and watched her mentor disappear through the vanishing cabinet. Leaving the room of requirement, she headed for the common room, forgetting that her two friends would be there, waiting for her to return.

When the silver haired girl clambered through the portrait hole, the quiet conversation ceased. A few people even packed up their things and left the room while giving her icy glares. She spotted James and Sirius sitting by a window playing wizards chess, Peter was watching them intently, and Remus was leaning on a wall beside them, face buried in a book. They had looked up when she had come into the room, but resumed their game without a word to her.

"Knight to E5," she heard Sirius say as she approached her friends. He let out a yelp of glee as his knight smashed James' castle to pieces, violently.

"Hey guys," she said quietly, sitting down beside them. They ignored her; spare Peter, who quickly glanced at her apologetically. "Guys?" Nothing. "You can't ignore me forever Pads. Prongs, come on." She sighed, looking to Remus, who quickly averted his gaze to his book. She had known this was going to happen, but she hadn't prepared herself for this conversation.

"Why'd you do it Cass?" James said quietly. His friend looked around the room quickly, before returning her gaze to his. "Can I tell you guys something?"

"Anything." James said without hesitation. Sirius remained silent, but looked at her, at least.

She took a deep breath and began.


End file.
